107 years ago, Arizona’s founders feared that legislatures could land in the pockets of special interests. They believed that ultimately, the people in power had to be accountable to the citizens. They gave us the power of referendum, recall and initiative. Today’s state Legislature wants to eliminate your access to that power.

The Arizona Republican Party filed a complaint against a group that wants to create a “top-two” primary in the state, claiming the organization failed to report large contributions to election officials, though the largest donation it referenced is not subject to the state’s campaign finance laws.

Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson is hoping to have final language for his revamped top-two primary measure in November, with plans to launch the campaign and signature-gathering effort in January. “They key to the language, obviously, is keeping it simple enough that the voters will vote for it but still has enough meat on it that it’s enforceable.

Had voters passed the Open Elections/Open Government measure, proponents argued that the result would have been less-radical ideologues being elected and a looser grip by political parties on elected offices.